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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, December 14, 2009 <br />6:30 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> Page 1 of 17 <br /> <br /> <br />ROLL <br /> <br />The Orono City Council met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor <br />James White, Council Members James Murphy and Lili McMillan. Representing Staff were Finance <br />Director Ron Olson, City Clerk Lin Vee, City Attorney Soren Mattick, Assistant City Administrator of <br />Long-Term Strategic Planning Mike Gaffron, Zoning and Planning Coordinator Melanie Curtis, Planner <br />Evelyn Turner, City Engineer Tom Kellogg, and Recorder Jackie Young. Council Member Bremer <br />arrived at 6:37 p.m., and Council Member Franchot arrived at 6:43 p.m. <br /> <br />Mayor White called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. <br /> <br /> <br />CONSENT AGENDA <br /> <br />Item Nos. 12 - 25 were added to the Consent Agenda. <br /> <br />Murphy moved, McMillan seconded, to approve the Consent Agenda as amended. VOTE: Ayes 3, <br />Nays 0. <br /> <br /> <br />APPROVAL OF MINUTES <br /> <br />*2. REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 23, 2009 <br /> <br />Murphy moved, McMillan seconded, to approve the minutes of the Orono City Council meeting of <br />November 23, 2009, as submitted. VOTE: Ayes 3, Nays 0. <br /> <br /> <br />BUDGET HEARING – 6:30 P.M. <br /> <br />3. 2010 BUDGET HEARING – ADOPTION OF 2010 BUDGET AND TAX LEVY <br /> <br />Ron Olson, Finance Director, gave a brief overview of the process used to determine the City’s tax <br />capacity, which is calculated at one percent for the first $500,000 of the value of the property and 1.25 <br />percent after that. Due to the decline in the housing market, the City will experience a fairly significant <br />reduction in revenue, which has resulted in some cuts being made in the overall expenditures of the City. <br /> <br />Olson noted property taxes account for 66 percent of the general fund revenues. The proposed 2010 <br />general fund expenditures are $5,929,210, which is a decrease of 3.82 percent. The major factor for the <br />general fund decrease is the plan to leave vacant positions unfilled in the inspections, public works, and <br />police departments and a reduction in the police department expenditures. <br /> <br />The total tax levy required to fund the propose 2010 budget is $4,665,880, which is an increase of <br />$101,194 or 2.22 percent over the 2009 levy. For a home valued at $1,000,000, the City’s share of the <br />property tax bill will increase by 2.0 percent. The City is utilizing the “Special Levy” provision of the <br />levy limit law in order to increase the levy for debt service above the levy limit. The total levy for debt <br />service is increasing by 9.81 percent, which reflects the increased levy for the 2008 street reconstruction <br />bonds. The City will utilize a special levy in order to increase the debt service levy by an amount greater <br />than the current levy limit. The increases required for debt service will be lower in future years. <br />Item #02 - CC Agenda - 01/11/2010 <br />Approval of Council Minutes 12/14/09 [Page 1 of 17]